All news – Page 7416
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Things Fall Apart
If the USA remains the last political superpower, then it must be seen, also, as the last aerospace superpower. Just as the Byzantine Soviet empire has been torn apart by centrifugal forces, so has its aerospace industry been shattered, perhaps beyond hope of repair, by the collapse of the old-style ...
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UK/France consider joint air-dropped-weapon programme
The UK and French defence ministries are contemplating releasing a joint request for information (RFI) during the middle of this year, covering the development of an improved-accuracy family of bombs for their respective air forces. The move towards a joint RFI is being driven by the desire to ...
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F-22 makes progress towards first flight
PREPARATIONS FOR THE 29 May first flight of the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 have moved ahead with delivery of the initial avionics software. Endurance testing of the Pratt & Whitney F119 engine, required for initial flight release, has also been completed successfully. Fort Worth, Texas-based Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft ...
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Lack of flying hours may force Russia to ground MiG-31s
Russia is considering grounding its entire fleet of Mikoyan MiG-31 Foxhound interceptors because a lack of pilot flight hours is making the aircraft dangerous to fly. Col Gen Victor Prudnikov, chief of Russia's air-defence force, says that, at the present level of annual flying, it is "shameful and ...
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General Electric-led JSF team pushes ahead
General Electric has received $96 million from the US Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)programme office to carry out further development of the core of its YF120-FX advanced fighter powerplant, as part of the JSF Alternate Engine Programme. GE, which is teamed with Rolls-Royce and the UK company's Allison Engine ...
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All-weather Havoc flight testing starts
Mil is to begin flight testing of the Mi-28N all-weather variant of the Havoc attack helicopter in March, following a four-month delay in the programme. The Mi-28N was first flown with a short hop at the end of 1996. It was then grounded because there was no funding ...
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Hearing voices
The Westland Sea Kings of the UK armed forces are to be fitted with Racal's Automatic Voice Alerting Device, primarily to provide pilots with low-height warnings. The UK Civil Aviation Authority has made the equipment mandatory for commercial helicopters involved in offshore operations, and the Royal Air Force's search-and-rescue Sea ...
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Hungary for business
Lockheed Martin and the Hungarian Government signed a protocol at the end of January, "paving the way for expanded, long-term, industrial co-operation". The US company has presented a preliminary plan offering 100% offset in exchange for Lockheed Martin products. The agreement comes in the middle of active marketing of the ...
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RAM hits home at White Sands range
A rolling-airframe missile (RAM), fitted with the newly designed Block 1 seeker, achieved a direct hit on the wingtip-mounted infra-red source of a BQM-34 target drone during the weapon's first flight test, conducted at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, on 1 February. The RAM Block 1 ...
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Lagardere/Alcatel can rebid for Thomson
Lagardere and Alcatel Alsthom are to have a second chance of bidding for Thomson-CSF, following the French Government's decision to relaunch the privatisation of the defence-electronics giant with a search for industrial partners. Lagardère had emerged as the original winner in 1996, but the Government's decision was overturned ...
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'Amicable' Viasa liquidation agreed
Shareholders in Venezuela's Viasa have agreed to go ahead with an "amicable" liquidation of the failed flag carrier, which leaves the door open for a relaunch. Viasa was forced to cease operations at the end of January, in the face of mounting losses and lack of cash, while ...
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Fairchild cools down Longbow Apache
FAIRCHILDCONTROLS is to supply the environmental-control system for the upgraded AH-64D Longbow Apache attack helicopter under a $73 million contract from McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems. Frederick, Maryland-based Fairchild will supply the Improved Environmental Control System, a distributed vapour-cycle cooling and heating unit consisting of two redundant systems with ...
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ARINC Skydoc puts maintenance data on the Internet
ARINC HAS LAUNCHED a system for the on-line distribution of maintenance documentation. The Skydoc service provides secure access, via the Internet, to ARINC's maintenance-information database, which is updated continuously with the latest manufacturers' bulletins and regulatory authorities' directives. Atrial of the system involving Airbus aircraft is under way at Lufthansa. ...
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Tiny aircraft come under study
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is considering funding research into so-called micro air vehicles - aircraft with wingspans which measure just 150mm - which scientists believe could be used for tasks such as surveillance and detection of toxic chemicals on the battlefield. The aim is ...
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MDC fits redesigned C-17 gear pods
McDonnell Douglas (MDC) has begun installing the first shipset of redesigned main-landing-gear pods for its C-17 military transport. The pods were revised under the "design for manufacturing and assembly" concept, aimed at cutting production costs. Introduced from aircraft No 33, the pods are projected to save $45 million over the ...
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B-1B upgrade
Boeing has been awarded a $179 million contract to perform an avionics upgrade and install a smart-weapons-delivery capability for the US Air Force's Rockwell B-1Bbombers. The enhancements, part of the B-1Bconventional-mission upgrade programme, are scheduled to be installed from 2001. Source: Flight International
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Maintenance needs stepping up-...
Sir - You attribute to maintenance error three aircraft accidents and 260 fatalities in the Airline Safety Review for 1996 (Flight International, 15-21 January, P31). Engineering departments/ organisations must act now, to prevent an increase in this statistic. I suggest replacing accountant types with professional engineers at management ...
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A340 switches: re-active or pro-active reaction?
Sir - In the article "Airbus fits switch guards after A340 hydraulic incident" (Flight International, 12-18 February, P16), Airbus Industrie describes the move to install guards as part of its "pro-active" stance on cockpit safety. If that stance were really pro-active, would not the A340 switch guards have ...
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Enhanced awareness
At the end of 1995, Sextant Avionique delivered the first production sets of avionics for the multi-role Dassault Mirage 2000-5. The first production deliveries of the aircraft for the French air force are scheduled to take place this year, and the -5 is also being promoted for export. ...
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Air Niugini hit by sackings
Papua New Guinea's (PNG) deputy prime minister and finance minister Chris Haiveta suddenly sacked all but two members of the seven strong Air Niugini's board of directors during a meeting in February, leaving final negotiations stalled for the acquisition of two new Bombardier de Havilland Dash 8-200s, and other corporate ...